Kent pair hold the Key to happiness

Batman Rob: Kent's Rob Key hasn't played for England in four years but Essex will have to keep a close eye on his progress in the Friends Provident final

They could yet appear for England as a package. But, come tomorrow, the double act of Rob Key and Joe Denly will happily settle for lighting up Lord's and making life miserable again for old rivals Essex.

Captain Key and 22-year-old Denly have developed into one of the country's most dangerous opening partnerships, destructive enough for folk from further afield than Kent to suggest the selectors could do a lot worse than pick both of them in the one-day team.

Three weeks ago, they bloomed at the Rose Bowl with partnerships of 58 and 89 against Essex and Middlesex, first helping their county into the Twenty20 final and then launching a thrilling run-chase which ended just short of Cup-clutching glory.

And tomorrow Key and Denly will hope to give Kent a flying start to what could be a cracking Friends Provident Trophy final.

"Twenty20 is a fantastic day and it will be tough to beat the atmosphere we had at the Rose Bowl, but every time you play at Lord's it's a great event," said Key.

"This is a big occasion and there should be a good crowd so it is something the whole club is really looking forward to."

Key, 29, has not played Test or limitedovers cricket for England for four years. But his was the one name, outside the current squad, widely mentioned as a serious candidate for captain-when both Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood resigned earlier this month.

Key's aim tomorrow is to lead Kent to their second trophy in as many years after lifting the Twenty20 Cup last summer.

But eye-catching performances from the two openers just might lead to other things.

"One of the things we have heard a little bit is Key and Denly opening the batting for England," said Kent's skipper.

"That's something we'd both quite enjoy and would probably be Plan A." And Plan B? "I'll get in and Joe doesn't," joked Key, just beating Denly to the punchline.

Kent may need to be razor sharp from one to 11 tomorrow, though, against an Essex side eager to make amends for their Twenty20 defeat and keener still to win a first Lord's final in 10 years.

Key's team have the competition's most successful batsman in Martin van Jaarsveld, who has hit four centuries in eight Friends Provident games this season.

But Essex can boast all-rounder Ravi Bopara, whose unbeaten 201 during the quarter-final win over Leicestershire was arguably the innings of the whole summer.

And then there is Graham Napier, who blasted Sussex for 152 in a Twenty20 game, and England opener Alastair Cook, whose 95 helped to defeat Yorkshire in the FPT semi-final, to name just two more of Essex's potential match-winners.

"The guys were extremely disappointed to lose to Kent in the Twenty20," says captain Mark Pettini. "But we are fortunate enough to have the chance to put that right tomorrow."